Following the Bears' 42-21 loss to the Rams, Jay Cutler confirmed to Waddle and Silvy Monday that he had a rare conversation with general manager Phil Emery to address the current state of the team.

Cutler, who's in the final year of his contract, said talks about a new contract wasn't part of the discussion, but the Bears quarterback did reiterate he doesn't want to go anywhere.

"I would like to stay in Chicago," Cutler said on ESPN 1000 during his weekly radio show. "I'd be surprised if they kind of broke up the group they we have on offense. I want to stay here. ... The longer that we can stay together as a group, the better we're gonna be."

The possibility of Emery placing the franchise tag on Cutler is always an option. And Cutler says he wouldn't be opposed, considering the relationship he's formed with the offense.

"If they want to franchise me I'm gonna feel good about the situation we're in," he said. "We're gonna be in our second year of the offense with these guys, we're gonna be better, I'm gonna be better so it's not personal. It's business."

But Cutler also said he might hold out if a long-term deal isn't reached.

"You just don't show up for a little while," he said, then admitted, "but everybody at some point comes back to work, right? I'm not just gonna not show up. I might miss a few OTA's and maybe go on an extra vacation, but at some point I'm gonna be back there."

However, Cutler, of course, can't get paid if he's not on the field.

After suffering a groin injury Oct. 20 against Washington that forced him to sit out one game, he returned against the Lions, but exited late in the fourth quarter with a high ankle sprain. Cutler has since missed the last two games, and is expected to miss at least one more. And he says that's the biggest knock against him at this point.

"I've thought about it vaguely and it obviously doesn't help the situation," Cutler said. "It never does. In this business, availability is the No. 1 priority. ... You can be a good player, you can have all these attributes, but if you're not available each Sunday, if you're not there for [the coaches] to put you in, it doesn't matter. That'll get you kicked out of this league faster than getting in trouble off the field."

Although Marc Trestman ruled Cutler out Sunday against the Vikings, Cutler said he's hoping to get on the practice field soon.

"Hey good, maybe they'll let me practice this week," he said. "The sooner I can get out there, the better. I hate the position that I'm in right now. Can't help out the guys, so the sooner I can get back out there the better."

Cutler, along with Trestman, said he's confident he will suit up again before the season ends. Cutler said he's targeting a comeback for Dec. 9 against the Cowboys, but his frustration level on a scale of 1-to-10 is the highest it could be.

"It's getting worse and worse," Cutler said. "The first week I was like, 'you know, we gotta take our time here,' ... but now ... I'm at like a 10. [I'm] dying to get out there."